RE: Chris Harris video: Deltawing drive

RE: Chris Harris video: Deltawing drive

Thursday 1st November 2012

Chris Harris video: Deltawing drive

The maddest, most distinctive racing car in years and Harris has driven it...



I have just watched the Youtube video of Satoshi Motoyama's heartbreaking attempts to fix the Deltawing at Le Mans this year. I think my contact lenses were rather better lubricated at the end of the vid than they were at the beginning.

Harris heads off in the Deltawing...
Harris heads off in the Deltawing...
How strange that a piece of footage which shows everything that is right about motorsport - perseverance, teamwork, lateral thinking - should have come to light through a programme which has exposed the very worst aspects of the insular, dogmatic motorsport community?

The Deltawing only raced at Le Mans as a one-off wildcard entry. That it didn't finish was a great shame, but in the scheme of Nissan's brave attempt to showcase this fascinating design, it didn't really matter. In exchange for a sum Audi probably spent on Dr Ulrich's make-up artist, Nissan stole the show for the non-specialist media because it won page and web space everywhere.

The car captured the imagination. It was an honourable underdog in the correct tradition: espousing new ideas that others didn't want to hear.

Unusual car, unusual tyre requirements
Unusual car, unusual tyre requirements
Where did the DeltaWing project go from there? Two weekends ago it went to Road Atlanta for the ALMS season-finale called Petit Le Mans. Despite being 300hp down on the lead cars and having to wave by other cars because it wasn't racing for class honours, the DeltaWing finished fifth overall driven by Lucas Ordonez and Gunnar Jeannette.

It almost didn't race after being punted by a Porsche, but it was still in one piece after the 10-hour race, so they let us have a drive.

There is plenty to go wrong here. For starters there is no spare Deltawing, and the brilliant Road Atlanta circuit offers many permutations of the larger crash variety. The temperature was low and, of course, the car doesn't drive like anything else. We had 10 laps to get the job done.

The video includes a brilliant chat from Deltawing designer Ben Bowlby. It's the most interesting car-based interview I've heard all year, and it makes me feel even more strongly that this car deserves to race again.

Enjoy the vid as much as I did driving the car.


Author
Discussion

chiefski26

Original Poster:

815 posts

200 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Interesting.

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

254 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
What next, Reliant Robin...?

possibletowel

65 posts

146 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
could listen to Ben all day! great insight!

roystinho

3,767 posts

174 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Love it. Were you just nodding along to the suspension explanation?

And the rear brake bias/parachute analogy is great. Which then asks another question...

365daytonafan

283 posts

184 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Great video Chris.

With the trouble finding a series to race these in has Nissan given any thought to a one make series for them (it was originally conceived as a single seater after all)?

ravon

599 posts

281 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Another brilliant video, fascinating topic, still don't really understand the car, but have a little more understanding, but even more curiosity thanks to your efforts. I'm guessing the physics are totally different, but it has a certain similarity to a modern racing motor cycle and sidecar outfit ?

Dogtown

357 posts

179 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
That's some clever stuff. Blimey, I was having trouble following the explanation but very interesting. Very well shot too, I'm guessing you didn't get that much track footage in five laps without some help?

Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Shame such a revolutionary car is being blocked, probably because someone noted it's immense potential and didn't want to spoil the diesel Audi party.

joshleb

1,544 posts

143 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Really impressed with that, needed to watch the suspension part twice to try and work out what was going on, still not fully sure.

Would love to have a go in it! But I wouldn't like to be on a track with it, must be hard to see when it's coming to overtake you

deltashad

6,731 posts

196 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Thats very ... different. How would it work with a single front wheel and pivoting cockpit?

Scotty996T

433 posts

202 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Superb interview and film. Superb car. That's all smile

paranoid airbag

2,679 posts

158 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Scotty996T said:
Superb interview and film. Superb car. That's all smile
+1. And credit to the engineer - I even understood most of it. Hope to see it again smile.

Lazygraduate

1,789 posts

160 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Absolutely love the passion that the engineer shows for his creation. Could watch that all day long! A welcome return to form

ListerJaguar

107 posts

147 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Really dont understand why there is opposition to this car!

silverthorn2151

6,298 posts

178 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
I am inclined to agree with Chris that this is indeed one of the most important racing cars for decades. A sea change in design with an explanation that can be followed and more or less understood really is something special. Love listening to very clever people explain something about which they are passionate.


camel_landy

4,863 posts

182 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
possibletowel said:
could listen to Ben all day! great insight!
...and don't you just love his enthusiasm? So infectious. smile

M

DanDC5

18,748 posts

166 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Well I now understand how it works slightly more now. But in my head it still shouldn't hehe

Gorbyrev

1,160 posts

153 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Could quite happy listen to that 50min episode. Please, please buy Ben a few beers and talk through the rest of the car. Faster than the P1s on the back straight with 320hp? As Pete Kay quipped about garlic bread "that's the future that!"

Digger

14,591 posts

190 months

Thursday 1st November 2012
quotequote all
"Monkey Motion".

Stifled smirk here! biggrin

moribund

4,030 posts

213 months

Thursday 1st November 2012
quotequote all
Gorbyrev said:
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Could quite happy listen to that 50min episode. Please, please buy Ben a few beers and talk through the rest of the car. Faster than the P1s on the back straight with 320hp? As Pete Kay quipped about garlic bread "that's the future that!"
+1